Pitbull and Ke$ha's summer tour rolled into Southern California on Sunday night at Sleep Train Amphitheatre with rumors swirling at the gate that fewer than 10,000 tickets had been sold for the event, a little more than half of the Chula Vista venue's capacity. Surveying the audience at the start of Pitbull's headlining set, however, it was hard to believe the event drew a low turnout, the crowd's energy making up for any lack of attendees and the lawn remaining the only sparsely populated tier.

The outing, which brings two of contemporary pop's more polarizing figures to the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night (June 18) for their debuts at the historical landmark, isn't exactly a no-brainer. Usually double-bills of this size have a direct connection between artists, like the coming stadium extravaganza from Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake, who take over the Rose Bowl in late July.

Pitbull and Ke$ha, who both released albums last November, have a couple of past collaborations, but nothing major – and nothing that warranted this jaunt, besides the latter's MTV reality show, “My Crazy Beautiful Life,” and the general commercial viability of touring together.

In the future, though, Pitbull might be better off sharing the stage with one of the dozens of musical celebrities with whom he has worked, as his set suffered from a lack of flesh-and-blood singing partners. That's not an uncommon feature in the pop concert rulebook, yet it was still a little distancing to endure song after song accompanied by, at best, a glimpse of featured vocalists like Jennifer Lopez, T-Pain, or Ne-Yo on giant video screen. At worst, the hooks would come from nowhere, with crowd sing-alongs helping dispel the haunting aspect of disembodied voices.

While Pitbull's output might not be feasible in the traditional touring sense, the Cuban-blooded mogul doubled down on charm and charisma in support of last year's “Global Warming,” to winning results. He tends to draw a strong Latin-American audience, and certainly songs like “Echa Pa'lla (Manos Pa'rriba)” and “Shake Señora,” not to mention his pattern of recording both English and Spanish versions of smashes, speak to that outreach.

But Chula Vista's proximity to Mexico, just seven miles from the border, saw a majority of Latin fans in attendance, with the biggest roars of appreciation coming from Pitbull's acknowledgments of their shared heritage and experiences.

Pitbull undoubtedly stole their hearts at first glimpse this night, and his set fed into the DJ culture of jamming hit after hit into an 80-minute performance with little time to breathe. There were even non sequitur covers spliced between originals, like a guitar breakdown of Guns N' Roses' “Sweet Child o' Mine,” the intro of that song segueing into “Rain Over Me” without any reason or attempted connection.

Earlier, the 32-year-old Floridian addressed the crowd with a message about “not caring” and flipping that as a positive concept. After uttering the words “I don't care,” the maximum-strength speakers erupted with the hook of recent Icona Pop single “I Love It,” inexplicably followed 30 seconds later by the next Pitbull song. It was an anything-goes attitude that made sense only in terms of “not caring,” an approach he might have learned from his tour mate.

Because if anyone doesn't care about anything, it's Ke$ha.

She doesn't care about Pitbull, for one, failing to acknowledge him during her hourlong turn, performing as if she were the headliner. For a minority of those in attendance – fans donning furry, animal-themed clothing or brightly colored hot pants or, in general, outfits seemingly purchased from Forever 21 while on acid – she was.

At this point in the 26-year-old's young career, people already either love or hate her. Fittingly, she provides an uncomfortable but captivating spectacle that's hard to do justice for both camps.

Ke$ha drops the f-bomb in her songs and stage banter about as much as Kanye West does on a typical album, which is no small number. Her chief interest, in both conversation and song, is sex, usually discussed in fairly explicit detail, which comes off somewhat inspiring, given her complete disregard for social conventions. She also may be the first pop diva-in-training to keep a bottle of Budweiser near the front of the stage to swig between tunes.

Her stories about songwriting are about as entertaining as the actual tracks themselves. “Take It Off,” for instance, was penned after a wild night at a transgender bar where everyone ended up naked. Another cut, the unreleased “Machine Gun Romance,” was removed from last year's “Warrior” album because the label thought it was too controversial. They were totally right, as it's an in-your-face depiction of a casual sexual relationship between the singer and a drug addict.

“This next song is about falling in love and getting (bleeped)-up and feeling like a saber-tooth tiger,” Ke$ha informed the audience before “C'mon.” That was merely one head-scratcher in a show filled with absurdity.

But her message – that essentially she can say or wear or sing about or do whatever she wants, within legal limits – is a good thing. She may step on some toes, yet in an era of “slut shaming” and a continued divide in gender equality, Ke$ha may be unintentionally showing younger fans that life is not for men or patriarchal society to dictate. A feminist in pop-starlet clothing prone to twisted stage antics – it's no surprise she's spent studio time with the Flaming Lips – she seems to know exactly what she's doing, and may prove no fluke after all.

Pitbull & Ke$ha next appear Tuesday, June 18, at the Hollywood Bowl, $32.50-$125.

Ke$ha performs Sunday night at Sleep Train Amphitheatre, two days before he and tour mate Pitbull make their Hollywood Bowl debuts. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull performs Sunday night at Sleep Train Amphitheatre, two days before he and tour mate Ke$ha make their Hollywood Bowl debuts. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha is backed up by some sword-wielding dancers. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha performs amidst masks and dramatic choreography. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha stands out during her performance. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha commands some gymnastic dancing. PHILIP COSORES, FOR TEH REGISTER
Ke$ha performs Sunday night at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha will be making her debut at the Hollywood Bowl. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha flashes an eye on the palm of her hand. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha is showered with light. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha's dancers lighten up. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha gets a little help from her dancers. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha gets carried away by her music. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha whips up the crowd in a her high-energy number. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha brings up her guitar. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ke$ha takes center stage. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull gets the beat. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull hits a powerful moment in his performance. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull feeds off his band's energy. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull and Ke$ha are on tour together. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull performs Sunday night at Sleep Train Amphitheatre. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull sings one of his hits. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull will perform at the Hollywood Bowl. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull energizes the Sleep Train Amphitheatre. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull confronts his own image. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull performs with a dramatic light show. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull enjoys his own moves. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull is the center at attention. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull connects with the audience. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER
Pitbull gets some back-up. PHILIP COSORES, FOR THE REGISTER

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